This should be obvious, but it is not. Experts figure that they are known, and that attorneys should be able to easily find them. Maybe you have a website; lawyers should be able to find you on Google. Right? Riiiiiight…. Along with 3,245,3477 other people who also have websites citing them as experts in your specialty area.

People who have played any competitive sport know that best way to be found is to put yourself in the path an opponent is going to go. Basketball players only have to anticipate where an offensive player with the ball is going to move, then go to that spot and get in their way. They’ll find you … in their way. As a prospective expert witness, you have to know where attorneys are going to go when looking for their next expert witness, then make sure you or some signpost is right there, so they’ll see you before they see your competition.

You might put your name on the database roster of an expert location or intermediary firm. You might sign up with a legal directory, either on the Internet or in print off the Internet, usually with a company that sends out free booklets to attorneys listing their expert witness members.

You might let your friends and colleagues know of your interest in expert witness work so that you could receive a personal referral from someone at just the right time. From a colleague that is contacted, that personal referral will have even more impact. If you have existing expert witness experience, a jury verdict reporting service might have you listed, and an attorney looking for experts with experience may find you there. Another passive path for witnesses with experience is reported appellate decisions, as well as memberships in business groups or societies that specialize in your area of expertise. So joining such groups, or joining specialty trade associations, or working with regulatory bodies, or consulting with private consulting firms can all become paths for you to come into contact with prospective attorneys who seek experts via those membership rosters.

Attorneys often ask law librarians to help them obtain a list of potential experts. They may do this by searching out books or articles written and published by people in your specialty area. Make sure you write something and get it published from time to time. Law librarians and attorneys may also look to university and college campuses, and medical schools, for faculty members and practicing or teaching physicians.